From St. Petersburg to Moscow by Train

Today the rain that was forecast actually came. It was more like a heavy mist by the time we ventured out to our little patisserie, but we heard it on our skylights even before we woke up. By the time we headed to the train station at 12:30 it was full sunshine :-) We took the fast train from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We were in business class on our initial journey from Moscow, and it was super quiet and lovely. This time we were again in business class but a whole group of Italian senior citizens with a guide entered our car and it was loud chattering the entire time except during the meal service. Oh well Tim and Haley managed to sleep a bit even with the loud nonstop talking.

The train station in St. Petersburg. We were waiting for our train's platform to be posted on the board.

The giant map of the trains was intriguing and looked very "Soviet Era".

It's a good thing we know what the word for "Moscow" looks like in Russian....and...the board was in both Russian and English. :)

Tim and Haley did manage a bit of sleep on the train ride back to Moscow. Tim had his noise reducing earbuds on full throttle to help block out the party din.

 We had a driver meet us on the platform to drive us to our B&B. He was right on time, but what should have been about an hour drive turned into almost two. Moscow traffic at quitting time is horrendous.

Grid lock on the freeway.

Haley standing in front of our very lovely B & B.

 We arrived later than they expected but still prepared a wonderful dinner for us. Roasted chicken, rice, noodles, fresh vegetables from the garden. Yummy! They told us breakfast would be at 6:00 since we need to be at the airport by 7:00. Tim ordered an omelet and Philip told him the eggs came from their own chickens. Haley and I ordered pancakes. Either way, we should be set for the long flight home.

The garden out front looked beautiful and smelled so sweet.

Tomorrow we fly home on SwissAir. We fly Moscow to Zurich to Chicago to Atlanta. Once we finally land in Atlanta we will probably rest for a bit before driving home. Tim has a hotel on hold because he figures after such a long day of travel that we will need a shower and at least a few hours of rest. We will see. :-)

This has been a wonderful trip. The weather has been absolutely perfect, the sites have been amazing, and the company has been top notch! Russia remains at the top of my list of places I have visited and love.

PS from Tim:  Yes, it has been a great trip and to top it off we actually have an hour layover tomorrow in Zurich (as in SWITZERLAND) yeahhhhh  Wish it was longer...maybe we'll get bumped and have to spend the night!!  Don't think Haley would be too pleased with that, but I would be ECSTATIC :-)

Goodnight from Moscow. See you in the states tomorrow.

The Hermitage and St. Isaac's Church

Today we visited the winter palace. It is also known as the Hermitage. We booked tickets back in March; so all we had to do was go up to the "internet kiosk" and pick up tickets. The line was so long for those poor souls who had not planned ahead. The predicted weather was way off today. It was supposed to be rainy with a high of 66. Instead it was mostly sunny and 70. It was like a perfect spring day!

The Palace Square in front of the Hermitage is huge and adds to its grandeur.

The Hermitage is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world. This was an official residence of the Russian monarchs from 1732-1917 and has been open to the public since 1852.

The Hermitage from the Hydrofoil yesterday.

Pictures of this grand palace are so inadequate in showing its beauty. Haley said it is her favorite palace. She even liked it better than Catherine's Palace and Peterhof. The museum is so large! It reminds me of the Louvre but is much grander. Haley said "oooooohhhh and aaaaaahhhhhh over and over. I am not going to tag every picture because it would take too long.

The grand staircase as you ascend to the rooms on the second floor.

The amount of gold leaf in the palace is staggering.

I think the ceiling designs are as impressive as the art collections. The palace is divided much like the Louvre with areas dedicated to antiquities, masters from Germany, France, Italy and Russia as well as religious icons.

I forgot....there are also rooms full of the bounty that the Russians collected from war.

The floors were inlaid wood. I like this so much better than carpets.

Perhaps this is Haley's favorite. It was hard to choose.

The long line to buy tickets.

 If we had not bought our tickets online, we would have been standing in this insanely long line. Yikes!!! Planning ahead always pays off.  And that line moves EXTREMELY slow.

The detail was so intricate!

One of my favorite ceilings....it is green of course.

The throne room with the double-headed eagle....the symbol of imperial Russia.

The ceiling of the throne room where official receptions would have taken place.

The double-headed eagle again.  It's easy to overlook the details.

A grand portrait gallery.

The Hermitage cathedral.

The ceiling shows the ascension of Christ.

The beautiful icon stand....somehow the silver chandelier looked out of place.

Elizabeth I left her mark in the ornamentation.

The icon stand in the cathedral of the Hermitage.

The cupola of the palace cathedral.

Yes....thank you....I will take two!

Reminded us of the clock we bought and had restored. Our clock dates from 1780-1820 which is the same for this one, but ours is not so ornamental. It's a Morbier if you're interested.

Portrait of Elizabeth I

One of the many fountains that used to be in the palace garden.

This mosaic tile was amazing. The picture above is a detail of one wedge.

The hanging gardens in the center of the palace.

The Peacock Clock. We heard it chime. :)

The wooden icon dates to the 14th century. See pic below.

Haley and I love this color....so naturally we loved both rooms that were painted this light blue.

So glad to show Haley all things Russia...it has been an amazing trip!

The rare green marble is gorgeous. The same marble is used in the columns of St. Isaac's.

I also need this for my backyard garden. :) Love the green marble!!!!

A beautiful painting of the Doges palace in Venice after a battle.

Down to the first floor where the antiquities from Egypt, Rome and Greece are located.

The great statues that were used as ornamentation on the side pillars.

Statues from both Greece and Rome. The treasures here rival anything found in the British Museum or Louvre.

The statue was huge but I forgot to get Haley or Tim to stand in front to give it scale.

I need this for the backyard. :) It would make an excellent bird bath.

A young Roman from the 2nd century AD.

The columns here resemble a Greek temple.

Egyptian artifacts....

Steamed corn on the cob is sold as a snack food everywhere...so we had to try it.

Not a fan!

It was mushy and stuck to your teeth - but definitely healthy :-)

The Admiralty Building in St. Petersburg.

On our way to St. Isaac's.  The Admiralty is in the background.

St. Isaac's from a distance.

You can see why we don't drive in Russia. Say what?!?

The red granite columns are so beautiful. The church is truly similar to the Vatican.

Climbing the stairs. Glad we got that practice earlier this summer with the student trip!

We were dizzy from the round and round but the views were well worth it.

Haley led the way...the young do not feel the burn the way mom and dad do. :)

Below are the views from the top. It was such a fantastic view of St. Petersburg.

The smaller cupolas from the main dome. They reminded me of Byzantine crosses in Turkey.

My girl!

Such lovely views.

The Neva River in the background and the Embankment.

Haley and Tim at the top of St. Isaac's.

Inside the church is so lovely. Again there aren't any chairs or pews. The congregation stands for the entire service. Also there are no musical instruments. All singing is acapella.

I love the interior because of all the greens. In 2010, I bought my favorite cross at this church.

The cupola has a dove at the very top.

A zoom in view of the dove.

The Great South Gate. It weighs 20 tons and is cast of oak and bronze. It is 42 meters in height.

The doors from the outside.

The green marble columns that make up the icon stand.

Gorgeous!

This a picture of St. Isaac's during WWII. During the siege of St. Petersburg, cabbages were planted to help feed the people.

Anti-aircraft guns around the church during the war.

During the Soviet regime, the church was turned into a museum of anti-religion...how ironic.

The Great North Gate. It stands 42 meters in height. It makes me think of the Jubilee Gate at the Vatican.

The bronze-work was impressive indeed!

Tim and Haley at the Great North Gate.

Haley's paintings so far. She bought 2 more tonight after dinner. My girl loves her art. 

We had dinner tonight at Romeo's....a fantastic place that Tim picked, of course. It was a perfect way to end this last full day in St. Petersburg. Tomorrow we catch the fast train back to Moscow at 1:40 and arrive at 6. Goodnight from Russia.

Tim's salad.

Look Grayson....Chicken Kiev. It was good for sure, but not as good as Bogart's. Missing you!

Haley's pizza.

Tim's spaghetti

We all enjoyed dessert. Our waiter was from Congo and could speak 6 languages fluently. I always feel so deficient when I travel to Europe.